Man convicted of killing officer granted parole

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- The man convicted of killing an Oakdale police officer in 1982 has been granted parole.

Sixty-three-year-old Timothy Eling was notified this week that after 29 years, his life sentence is complete. Eling killed Officer Richard Walton during a gun battle inside a hospital pharmacy in St. Paul. Walton was off duty and moonlighting as a security guard when he was shot in the head.

The Star Tribune says Eling must still serve about four additional years at the Stillwater prison to complete a separate sentence for drug smuggling. Corrections Commissioner Tom Roy says parole was granted because Eling has pursued positive activities while in prison. Eling mentors offenders in the prison's chemical dependency unit.

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